Pursuant to technical amendments made under Title IV, section 401(l) of the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, NEW grantees may reserve amounts awarded under section 412(a)(2) of the Social Security Act to provide assistance without fiscal year limitation. The effective date of the statutory amendment is December 14, 1999 and changes made pursuant to such amendment will commence beginning with FY 2000 NEW grant funds that were awarded on or after July 1, 2000, and remain unobligated on June 30, 2001.

This Program Instruction (PI) does not apply to NEW grant funds subject to grant awards executed for program years 1997, 1998, and 1999. Such funds are governed by the requirements in effect under those legal instruments. NEW grantees accepted NEW grant funds for program years 1997, 1998, and 1999 upon terms and conditions specified in NEW grant awards executed in those prior years and must comply with all such requirements. Authority to reserve unobligated NEW grant funds commences with NEW grant funds remaining unobligated as of June 30, 2001. The terms and conditions of grant awards executed subsequent to this date shall reflect the substantive amendment to NEW expenditure authority made by the Foster Care Independence Act.

While increasing the amount of time grantees have to obligate NEW grant funds, section 404(e), as amended, limits the purposes for which funds subject to this PI may be expended. Section 404(e) specifies that such funds may only be expended on assistance and administrative costs associated with providing such assistance.

The legislative history of Title IV-A of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) (Pub.L. 104-193), makes clear that Congress did not intend for the term "assistance" to have more than one meaning applicable to Title IV-A grant programs and that a single definition of assistance would insure that Title IV-A provisions are implemented as intended. Therefore, NEW grant funds subject to this PI must be expended on "assistance" as defined at 45 C.F.R. Part 260.31 and 45 C.F.R. Part 286.10.

Assistance

NEW grant funds subject to this PI may only be expended on:

• cash payments, vouchers, or other forms of benefits designed to meet a family’s on-going basic needs (i.e., food, clothing, shelter, utilities, household goods, personal care items, and general incidental expenses);
• supportive services such as transportation and child care provided to families who are not employed;
• any benefit or service permitted under 45 C.F.R. Part 287.45 and not otherwise precluded under 45 C.F.R. Parts 260.31 and 286.10; and
• administrative costs associated with providing the above benefits and services.

NEW grant funds subject to this PI may not be expended on:

• work subsidies (i.e., payments to employers or third parties to help cover the costs of employee wages, benefits, supervision, and training);
• contributions to and distributions from Individual Development Accounts;
• counseling, case management, peer support, and information and referral services to families not employed; or
• transitional services, job retention, job advancement, and other employment-related services to families not employed.

INSTRUCTION:

Program Instructions

If adoption of the policy covered in this PI will result in a substantial change to the NEW Plan or NEW program operations (for example, if the assistance to be provided with carried-over NEW funds is not covered by the grantee's NEW plan for the period in which these funds were awarded), an NEW plan amendment must be submitted. According to Section 287.85, a substantial change is a material change in: administering agency, designated service area/population, work activities or performance standards. An amendment must be submitted to ACF 45 days prior to the implementation of the proposed change. For example, if the plan does not include benefits or services meeting the definition of assistance and the grantee has unobligated NEW funds remaining at the end of the 2000 program year (June 30, 2001), an amendment must be submitted by May 17, 2001 in order that such unobligated funds may be properly expended in succeeding program years. The amendment would have to include any "assistance" to be provided that was not approved in the current plan. ACF will review the amended plan within 45 days of receipt. The amendment becomes effective when it is approved by the Secretary. Amendments are to be submitted to: Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services, Division of Tribal Services (DTS), NEW Team, 370 L'Enfant Promenade SW, 5^th floor west, Washington, D. C. 20447. Amendments to DTS can be faxed to 202-401-5718. A copy of the amendment should be simultaneously submitted to the appropriate ACF Regional Office, listing attached.

NEW grantees must ensure that unobligated NEW funds remaining after June 30, 2001 are ultimately expended on assistance and/or administrative costs associated with the provision of assistance. Benefits and services provided must be tracked.

In the NEW program narrative report, the following must be reported: number of NEW recipients provided "assistance" with prior year’s funds and a description of the type of "assistance" provided.

Financial Instructions

NEW grantees must continue to obligate NEW program funds by the end of the program year (June 30) and liquidate by June 30 of the succeeding year for ongoing NEW activities and services. However, if any funds remain unobligated at the end of a program year (as of June 30) the grantee may only expend these funds for the purpose of providing assistance without fiscal year limitation. The grantee must submit an initial SF-269 within 30 days after the end of the obligation period (due by July 30 for each immediately preceding fiscal year) showing the unobligated balance for the previous fiscal year's funding. This report will show the grantee’s unobligated balance on Line I of the SF-269. The amount reported as unobligated on Line I must be expended on assistance that meets the definition of assistance defined at 45 CFR Parts 260.31 and 286.10.

NEW grantees must continue to report annually (reports due by September 30) on the SF-269 for each Federal Fiscal Year's NEW funding until all funds are expended. This may require the tribe to submit multiple financial reports for successive fiscal years at the same time.

Example: FY 2000 NEW Funds awarded Tribes on July 1, 2000

1. Tribe receives FY 2000 grant award on July 1, 2000 for $50,000.
2. The obligation period for FY 2000 grant funds runs from July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2001.
3. The liquidation period for FY 2000 funds expires on June 30, 2002.
4. The Tribe obligates $40,000 of the FY 2000 NEW funds by June 30, 2001. The $40,000 in Tribal NEW obligation represents any activities approved under the Tribal NEW Plan. These obligations must be liquidated by June 30, 2002.
5. $10,000 of the FY 2000 funds remain unobligated on June 30, 2001. These funds may be retained by the Tribal NEW Program for the purpose of providing assistance to individuals until all funds are expended.
6. The Tribe must submit the first financial status report (interim SF-269) for FY 2000 funds within 30 days after the end of the obligation period, which corresponds to July 30, 2001.
7. The Tribe must continue to submit SF-269 reports within 90 days after the end of each program year (reports due September 30) until each Federal fiscal year's funding is expended. The Tribe may submit multiple SF-269 reports for successive fiscal years as the Tribe liquidates its funding.
8. The Tribe must submit separate SF-269 reports for each fiscal year's funding. The tribe must ensure that the Unobligated Balance reported on the interim SF-269 is expended only on assistance that meets the definition of assistance in 45 CFR Parts 260.31 and 286.10.

INQUIRIES: